Bella's Point of View

When we got to my house, Jasper got out and opened my door for me. It was late afternoon and I could safely say I had a good time. A great time, actually. He walked me to the door and waited while I unlocked it.

"Would you like to come in?" I asked, suddenly unsure of myself.

"Okay," he said, smiling.

We were two feet in the door when I realized there was a car parked in the driveway. I looked over and saw Charlie sitting on the couch.

"Hi, Dad." He had his feet propped up on the arm of the couch. I heard the sports center theme music start. Of course he was watching sports.

He looked over the back of the couch and I saw his eyes widen when he saw Jasper.

"Hi, Bells." He stood up and moved to my side.

"Who's this?" he asked. I could hear the tension in his voice. He knew it was a Cullen, but he had no idea what he was doing here.

"This is Jasper Hale," I said, not able to explain why he was here.

Charlie thrust out his hand and Jasper gripped it firmly.

"Nice to meet you," said Jasper, smiling cordially. I felt suddenly relaxed and looked at Jasper. He winked at me so quickly I wasn't sure if he really did it or not.

Charlie turned to me. "Can I talk to you in the kitchen real quick, Bella?" he asked. Uh-oh. This was not going to be good. Once Charlie had made his way to the kitchen, I glanced to Jasper and he nodded reassuringly.

I followed my father reluctantly to the kitchen. He was leaning against the counter.

"Where's Edward?" he asked. I could see right through his attempts at a casual conversation.

"I have no idea, Dad," I answered honestly.

"Why not?" he asked.

"We broke up," I answered simply. My heart thudded in my chest. It wasn't quite telling him the whole truth, but it was close enough. I saw a look of worry cross his features, but when he saw I wasn't upset about it, he tried to hide his smile.

He wasn't very good at masking his happiness. "That means you and Jake can finally take things up a notch!"